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04/07 16:04 CDT Rory McIlroy is taking a champion's victory lap at Augusta National ahead of his Masters defense Rory McIlroy is taking a champion's victory lap at Augusta National ahead of his Masters defense By DOUG FERGUSON AP Golf Writer AUGUSTA, Ga. (AP) --- In his 17th appearance in the Masters, Rory McIlroy finally won the green jacket and reached what he figured would be the pinnacle of his golf career. He has the career Grand Slam. He has an invitation to play in the Masters for as long as he wants. The 18th trip might be even better. This must feel like a victory lap for McIlroy, who has been at Augusta National all weekend with an eye on hosting the Masters Club dinner on Tuesday night. And then he can move on to that small matter of trying to become only the fourth player to win back-to-back at the Masters. What's the rush? "I think for the past 17 years I just could not wait for the tournament to start," McIlroy said Tuesday. "And this year, I wouldn't care if the tournament never started." That brought laughter, including his own. He met with the media at Augusta National --- a preview of his Prime Video documentary was played before he walked in --- for the first time since he won last year and began his news conference by asking, "What are we going to talk about next year?" He said the goal posts have moved, but he's still kicking. "It's completely different," McIlroy said. "I feel so much more relaxed. I know that I'm going to be coming back here for a lot of years, going to enjoy the perks that the champions get here. It doesn't make me any less motivated to go out there and play well and try to win the tournament." He doesn't expect it to be any easier than a wild Sunday afternoon, 18 holes that in some respects resembled his 18 years on tour. That's true for everyone in the 91-man field. There was a chill in the air Tuesday morning that now gives way to a forecast for hot, dry weather. That can be Augusta National at its toughest, no matter how pretty it looks with the azalea and dogwood blooms. "If it's firm and fast, the greens are going to be even more difficult to hit than they already are," Bryson DeChambeau said. Scottie Scheffler knows the drill as defending champion, having won in 2022 and 2024. Scheffler prefers a routine --- disrupted slightly now with a newborn son in tow. "Defending can always be difficult, but I think that's mostly just the odds of winning a tournament in back-to-back years," Scheffler said. "I think that's just extremely challenging, especially when you look at these major championships." Jack Nicklaus (1965-66), Nick Faldo (1989-90) and Tiger Woods (2001-02) are the only players to win in consecutive years at the Masters. "I think everything's new when you're a first-time defending (champion) here," Scheffler said. "You host the dinner --- that's a big deal. There's certain things that go on that maybe would make it a touch more difficult, but I wouldn't say it's anything too substantial." For McIlroy, it's everything so new that's making this so enjoyable. He never bothered to spend much time upstairs in the clubhouse during the Masters, where a room is dedicated to the co-founders and to President Dwight D. Eisenhower, a proud member at Augusta National. McIlroy loves golf history. "I knew the week of the tournament that the clubhouse is for participants and their families, but I still felt like I had to earn the right to be there a little more often," he said. McIlroy recalled one potentially awkward moment last year when he and Justin Rose, whom he would beat in a playoff, were going to have dinner in the clubhouse on Tuesday night. He drove down Magnolia Lane toward the clubhouse right as the past champions were on the balcony for cocktail hour before their dinner. "I'm like, ?I don't want to valet, get out, they're going to see me and it's going to be weird.' So I had this really awkward moment with it all last year," McIlroy said. "Yeah, thankfully that was the last time that I needed to do that." He has prepared remarks for a dinner of past champions, and a menu that is among the more exquisite for this occasion, particularly the wine. One of the side dishes is "Irish Champ," creamy mashed potatoes with green onions, butter and milk. "People keep asking me, ?Why didn't you go more Irish?' And I said, ?Because I want to enjoy the dinner as well,'" McIlroy said. More laughter. There was a lot of that Tuesday, different from past years when he heard the same questions --- When are you going to win the Masters? --- and didn't have great answers. Now he has the ultimate response: He wore his green jacket to his news conference. What's next? McIlroy has said he wants to win as many majors as possible --- Harry Vardon with seven has the most of any European player; McIlroy has five --- and at prestigious venues, such as St. Andrews next year for the British Open. "There's still a lot that I want to do," he said. "I think what I've realized is if you can just really find enjoyment in the journey, that's the big thing. Because honestly, I felt like the career Grand Slam was my destination, and I got there, and then I realized it wasn't the destination." ___ AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf

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